Quattuor Adiuvantes Manus
by Mavennica
Summary: Severus has been cursed, and Hermione has been affected. Draco volunteers to help, but it doesn't go as planned. EWE, character death (not SS or HG), no lemons, rated M for theme, language, and mild violence. Set in the same universe as "Redemption" and "I See Only You."


**AN**: **_Quattuor Adiuvantes Manus_ translates from Latin as "four helping hands."**

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Severus Snape crept slowly down the darkened alley, his back flush against the aged brick. His steps were light; his dragonhide boots made no sound as they fell between the flotsam that dotted the ill-kept pavement. An aura of darkness crept along with him as a dog would a beloved master. Ahead, a young blonde man fiddled with bags of trash near a dumpster.

As Severus stepped closer, he could smell the garbage the waiter was magically shrinking and levitating into the overflowing dumpster. The dark wizard sneered at the indignant grumbles coming from the blonde man who obviously thought himself ill-used by handling garbage.

In Severus's opinion, the waiter deserved to have his hands elbow-deep in offal; the idiot should have shrunken the trash before banishing it. It did occur to him that the tables were enchanted by Ministry janitors to clean themselves, teleporting all garbage to the dumpster, but if the young blonde wizard couldn't be bothered to weave a simple shrinking charm in between the threads of a cleaning spell, then that wizard got what he deserved_. _

He grimaced; Hermione would think him uncharitable if she had heard that.

_Hermione…_

Pushing thoughts of his young wife aside, Severus focused on the task at hand. He had to test his newest spell; it might be the only thing that could revive her. He steeled himself, the darkness of his eyes spreading outward, devouring the white. Two obsidian orbs glittered dangerously as he silently stepped forward, grasped the unsuspecting waiter on the right shoulder, and spun him around.

"_Quattuor Adiuvantes Manus,"_ whispered the potions master wandlessly.

Four nearly invisible hands, attached to four equally transparent but impossibly long arms, sprung from Snape's back and buried themselves into the chest of the unsuspecting waiter. The young man tried to scream, but one of the shimmering hands grasped his vocal cords and disabled them.

The hands quickly set to work. Each one of the waiter's chakras was disengaged, and the man's soul was lifted out of his body and into the darkness surrounding the other wizard. Severus could feel the darkness pulling at the edges of the man's soul, fraying it slightly, begging to devour it, but the four hands gestured the darkness away.

The blonde waiter slumped against Snape. His grey eyes were open but blank, and he did not fight when Severus set him gently on the ground and propped him up against the filthy brick wall beside the stinking garbage. The blonde man looked as if he had been kissed by a dementor.

Severus crouched down in front of the young man, his hands on either side of his head. The four arms, carrying the young man's soul, once again buried themselves in the waiter's chest. Severus marveled at their dexterity as they activated the man's chakras and reattached his soul. The waiter shuddered, his eyes blinking furiously. At last the young man ceased shaking and opened his eyes.

"How do you feel?" Severus peered at the blonde man sharply, checking for any obvious signs of chakra misalignment. The soul reattachment had to be perfect; he had only one chance with Hermione, and he wasn't about to lose her to a preventable mistake on his part.

The waiter looked up, his eyes full of fury. "I'm fine, you prickless shit!" He stood up and snarled at his soiled clothing in disgust. "What the _fuck_ was that all about, Severus?" A wave of his wand set his uniform and apron to rights. "I wasn't due in for volunteer testing until tomorrow morning."

Severus sat back, his muscles relaxing. If Draco was still able to swear at him like that, the young man stood a good chance of having survived the experiment intact. "I made a breakthrough in my arithmantic calculations, but they indicated that the test subject had to be unaware of what was to happen."

Draco smirked as he resumed cleaning up the trash scattered around the dumpster. "'A breakthrough in your arithmantic calculations?'" he quoted snidely, shaking his head. "Merlin, you're starting to sound like Granger."

After a moment the dark wizard softly spoke. "Snape."

Draco's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Snape?"

"She took my last name when we married, Draco." A look of overwhelming sadness passed over his face but was gone so quickly the young man wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined it. "She forced it, Draco."

The blonde man whistled. "Holy fuck, Severus. Five hundred galleons says she knew what she was doing when she did it, too. Potter is going to shit a brick when he finds out his best friend put her soul up as collateral for yours."

Snape bristled at the mention of Potter. "Yes, well, with you plowing him he shouldn't have any problems passing it."

Draco laughed heartily. "I'll be sure to tell him you said so. 'Thick as a brick' and all that."

"You're disgusting."

"And you're a monster, Severus, but we all have to have a hobby."

Draco shrunk the last of the garbage into the dumpster. After making sure his apron was straight and spelling a piece of corn off his shoe, he faced the potions master. "Did you even try to stop her?"

Severus huffed in indignation. "As a matter of fact, yes, I tried to stop her. She made a verbal oath before I could shut her up. Incidentally, why do you even care?" He stepped towards Draco menacingly. "I find it very suspicious that you volunteered to assist us. Slytherins don't volunteer for anything unless it benefits them."

Draco stepped toward Severus, the young man's handsome face marred by an ugly sneer. "Why don't you look inside my mind and find out?"

The dark wizard blanched; he stepped back from Draco, sickened.

Draco examined his manicure, grateful that the charm kept trash from getting under his nails. "That's right, Severus, you can't, not without flaying my mind to shreds."

"You wouldn't be flayed, boy, you'd be consumed," Severus rasped, fighting to regain control. _The things Malfoy has witnessed. Gods, the delicious evil of it. Stop, stop it! Get a hold of yourself! You bluffed the Dark Lord, for fuck's sake, you can handle being cursed. You can do this. You can do this for Hermione. Hermione…_

Draco watched, fascinated, as the train of thought wound its way across Snape's features. _It's a good thing he's done spying_, Draco thought. _We'd be right fucked otherwise._

Growing concerned, Draco put his hand on Severus's shoulder. Before he knew what had happened, Snape slammed him against the brick wall, trapping Draco between the hardness of the wall and the cold ice of the dark wizard's countenance. Snape's eyes went solid black as he cast a nonverbal _Petrificus_.

Draco was frozen in place, not even able to blink. His mouth went dry. _Oh shit…_

Snape's breath wafted over him. Draco smelled Quidditch equipment, broom polish, and sweat. Horror dawned on him when he realized his grave mistake in provoking his potions master. Draco focused all his willpower, pooling his magical force into a single word: _MOVE_.

"You smell Potter, I know you do," Snape drawled, his voice oddly doubled, sounding as if two recordings were being played with one a microsecond off from the other. "Think of him as I plunder your mind." Snape took a deep breath and whispered, "_Legilimens_."

Draco tried to scream, but his mind was being unhooked and shredded. He soon forgot why he wanted to scream, and then what screaming even was. Draco came apart piece by piece, consumed by the darkness inside Severus Snape's eyes.

* * *

Hermione awoke from her slumber when she felt the bed shake. She turned to her side to see her husband thrashing in another nightmare. "_Legilimens_," he whispered softly.

_It's the Draco one_, she realized, sitting up slowly so she wouldn't spook Severus. She waited until he had stopped moving and his breath settled into a smooth rhythm before approaching him. She had learned over time to stay clear if Severus was having a nightmare, but if she didn't wake him from this one, he would have a terrible headache the next day from holding the mental spell all night.

Hermione went to his side of the bed and sat near him, softly stroking his grizzled face. She bent down and kissed him on his hooked nose. "Severus, love, wake up." She brushed his ebony hair from his pale face.

"Mmmph," Severus uttered, his brows furrowed in concentration. He slowly opened his eyes to the sight of his wife's hair illuminated by moonlight. After a moment he moved back, reached out for her, and pulled her under the covers, her back to his chest, while softly kissing her neck. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked quietly.

It was always the same after Severus had the nightmare about Draco. Hermione shook her head no and cuddled back against Severus, falling into his embrace. He waited until she settled herself before nuzzling into her soft hair, her curls absorbing his tears as he relived the night he killed his godson.

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**AN: Thank you for reading. Please review and tell me what you thought.**


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